The process of firefighting is centuries old. The principal of firefighting is to eliminate contact with oxygen at the source of fire. This is achieved by placing fire suppressant, such as water or sand, directly onto the fire.
Fire engines have long been used to deliver fire suppressant onto fires. Fire engines typically includes a vehicle frame and at least one fire extinguishing mechanism, such as a hose attached with a nozzle, disposed on or within the vehicle for dispensing a fire suppressant onto a fire. Fire engine may or may not be equipped with a tank which stores fire suppressant. One common method to secure consistent supply of fire suppressant, such as water, is to rely on fire hydrants. This application requires specially trained firefighters to drive the fire engine to the location of the fire, to control the water hose, raise and lowering the hose nozzle for directing a flow of fire suppressant onto the fire, etc. Although fire engines are commonly used, fire engines are somewhat limited in usefulness in rural areas because of the limited access to fire suppressant and the vehicle's inability to enter difficult terrain.
Other applications have been in use for many years to fight fire in rural area. These applications include the use of, for example, aircraft to deliver fire suppressant from above the fire, and the use of a remote controlled robots to detect the location of the fire and dispense fire suppressant onto the fire. Aircraft may provide advantages in areas that are difficult to access by ground vehicles. Dispensing fire suppressant directly from above the fire usually provides the an efficient and effective way to stop fire traveling across the top of the foliage. However, aircraft require highly trained pilots to accurately dispense fire suppressant on top of the fire. Further, flying aircraft through smoke and fire conditions puts the pilot and other personal on the aircraft in danger. In case of a fire breakout in large areas, multiple aircraft are required to effectively dispense enough fire suppressant to stop the fire because an aircraft has limited capacity to store fire suppressant. Using multiple aircraft to fight large area of fire in a rural area may be expensive and impractical.
Remote controlled robots may provide advantages related to reduced human interaction with the fire. The robot may include a camera, remote control capability, and other features that provide a remote operator the ability to identify and fight the fire. Robots typically are not suitable for fighting fire that covers large area of rural land because of their limited capacity for storing and delivering fire suppressant. Similar to a traditional fire engine, a remote controlled robot also cannot access difficult terrain where many fires exist.